Truth 4

An annoying person.

That was Baek Da-eun’s impression of Michaela Ernst von Wittelsbach.

The person Han Seoyeon fell in love with at first sight.

The person who monopolizes Han Seoyeon’s love.

The only person Han Seoyeon trusts and relies on.

She’s envious.

Just looking at her makes her feel like her guts are twisting.

She’s jealous.

Why isn’t she the one in that position?

Baek Da-eun was the one who liked the girl first.

She had liked her since they were young.

She loves the girl more than that cold woman.

She can love her more.

“…She’s gone.”

If it were her, she would have always been by the girl’s side.

She wouldn’t have left her for a moment.

“Michaela is gone.”

Making the girl anxious.

If it were her, she wouldn’t have done such a thing.

“Michaela, Michaela…!”

What a foolish person.

She clearly promised not to make her cry.

It’s a waste.

Giving up the girl to such a woman.

“Michaela…!”

So for a moment, she had bad thoughts.

She had a wicked dream.

The bad woman who makes the girl cry again.

What if she doesn’t come back and just disappears at this opportunity?

The girl would be sad.

The girl’s side would become empty.

Wouldn’t she be able to fill that empty space?

Wouldn’t she be able to replace Michaela’s position?

It was a very attractive imagination.

But.

“It seems you’re having some trouble, Miss Han Seoyeon.”

“…Da-eun.”

Let’s end imagination as imagination.

Baek Da-eun reached out to the wandering girl.

“Do you need help?”

The reason was extremely simple.

She couldn’t bear to see the girl sad anymore.

Baek Da-eun was a shameless and greedy woman.

Her greatest wish was always the girl’s happiness.

More than her own happiness.

Because she wished for the girl to be happy.

As long as the girl could be happy, Baek Da-eun didn’t need her own small wishes.

It was a day particularly full of dark clouds.

Low.

Therefore, silence descends like the calm before a storm.

Killing intent floods the entire space within Michaela’s view.

It feels like she might be crushed by the killing intent alone.

It’s to the extent that she feels like she’s facing winter itself, not a human.

Han Yujin didn’t bother to wipe away his cold sweat.

Eventually, they clash.

The one who made the first move was decidedly Han Yujin.

The bandage on his right arm unravels.

[‘Theft’ has been activated.]

[Target: Michaela Ernst von Wittelsbach.]

Dark red mana tries to covet the silver-white sword.

However.

[System: Failed.]

It freezes.

[Cause Analysis: 404 Not Found.]

[‘Theft’ is destroyed.]

The dark red mana is caught in the fierce winter.

It freezes and shatters into pieces.

“…Tch.”

“It’s useless.”

As if she already knew this.

There isn’t even a sense of composure in Michaela’s voice.

“That’s a technique I saw when confronting the Demon King. It won’t work on me.”

Michaela’s body is special.

Originally, she was born into the world as a scabbard.

It’s impossible to separate the sword and her with just that level of power.

The sword chooses its master, so unless it’s physically stolen, it’s not possible.

“Ah, is that so…!”

Han Yujin kicked the ground.

His body shoots forward at an extraordinary speed.

“You’re so great!”

He throws a punch.

No technique, just absolute violence.

Michaela counters this.

The sound of sword and fist colliding rings out clearly.

“You’re so amazing! Wonderful!”

Neither gives an inch or hesitates.

What’s reflected in each other’s eyes is deep killing intent.

“Is that sarcasm?”

“No? I’m saying it with all sincerity?”

He grinned.

“Living shamelessly as a normal student despite being a murderer, I can’t do such a thing.”

“…”

Because it wasn’t exactly wrong.

Michaela has no right to say anything about that.

She was a murderer.

She committed murder out of personal emotion.

“I won’t bother asking why you’re here.”

The murderer refrained from meaningless questions.

Knowing such reasons would be meaningless.

“…There’s one thing I want to ask.”

“What?”

“Why did you leave the party?”

But she too had something she had always wanted to ask.

“Why did you hate your comrades so much?”

It wasn’t provocation.

It was pure curiosity.

“Why, you ask…”

Han Yujin answered without hesitation.

“Because you all betrayed me first!”

“Betrayal, you say.”

“That’s right!”

His intonation was that of a victim.

Regardless of whether it was true or not.

“I volunteered for all sorts of hardships for you all! I stored all the luggage! And then what? You tell me to leave the party just before defeating the Demon King?”

At least in Han Yujin’s mind, he was a perfect victim.

“You all abandoned me! You didn’t want to share even a bit of honor before the final battle! You coveted even the little bit of honor that should have come to me!”

He was abandoned.

That was Han Yujin’s statement.

“You never thought of me as a real comrade from the beginning! That’s why you could throw me away like an old shoe!”

It was Han Yujin’s statement alone.

It was his long-held true feelings.

It might be a reasonable thought if considered reasonable.

Even Michaela might think that way if placed in the same situation.

Miscommunication.

Misunderstanding.

“…No.”

Michaela opened her mouth.

She wanted to have a conversation to resolve these.

“The reason we kept you away from the party before the final battle was not like that.”

She hadn’t had a conversation before.

Because that rashness might have become the seed of distrust.

“The Demon King was powerful. On the other hand, you were objectively too weak at the time.”

Calmly.

Restraining her emotions a little.

“That’s why we decided to leave you behind. Even if we were to be defeated, you would be able to survive.”

Without lies about the events of that time.

Michaela conveyed.

“No one abandoned you. That’s why when you disappeared, everyone was worried. We all united to try to find you.”

We can’t turn back time.

Even if a past moment is stained with regret, it doesn’t come back.

“No one…”

Nevertheless, if there are misunderstandings.

Those at least should be resolved.

Only then can we move forward.

“…betrayed you.”

“Don’t make me laugh!”

Han Yujin raised his voice.

His fists repeatedly struck her sword randomly.

“Do you think I’ll fall for such smooth talk!”

The truth Michaela spoke of wasn’t even difficult for the man to accept.

It was the kind of thing he shouldn’t accept.

He was the protagonist of the novel called the world.

Therefore, everything had to be as he imagined.

If that’s not the case.

If it’s just a misunderstanding.

“Don’t talk recklessly when you’re a murderer!”

Isn’t what he’s doing no different from a childish tantrum?

“No matter what you say now…”

Crack.

A fist using all his strength strikes out.

“The fact that you’re a murderer won’t change!”

The air pressure literally exploded.

A storm swept through that place.

“That’s right.”

Only one place.

Except where Michaela was standing.

“I committed murder. I killed with these hands. You.”

“No way…”

Han Yujin asked for a moment in an expectant tone.

“Are you regretting it?”

“No.”

That expectation was thrown into the trash.

“Perhaps more dialogue was needed with you. Killing you was certainly not the right thing to do. However.”

Michaela’s sword pushed back Han Yujin’s fist.

Cold energy gathered on her sword.

“The reason I’m here is not just because of the past.”

Gripping the sword handle again.

Cold eyes stare directly at the man.

“You hurt my precious person.”

What clearly came to mind was the memory.

Tears fell.

The girl cried.

The man made the girl cry.

“I swear I will kill you.”

So she won’t forgive.

Michaela doesn’t hesitate.

“I have no regrets about that.”

As a lover.

She will never make her beloved sad again.

“…Ha.”

The porter sneered.

“I was a fool to expect anything from someone like you even for a moment.”

And.

[Authority is activated.]

Darkness covers Michaela’s vision.

Her eyes open.

As if they had just been closed until now.

Like waking from a dream.

The room was damp and chilly.

In the darkness descending underground, only a few torches stood lonely.

Clank.

Her hands and feet wouldn’t move.

Because they were bound by chains.

This is an underground prison.

Where death row inmates are held.

Michaela knew this place.

It was a place she couldn’t not know.

This place is─.

“Why.”

A voice is heard.

She raises her head at that unforgettable voice.

“Why did you do such a thing…”

A young man with black hair and blue eyes, his face stained with despair.

The man who was her friend and benefactor.

The descendant of a fallen ducal family.

The owner of the holy sword.

The savior who vanquished the Demon King.

“Ah…”

The man she truly betrayed.

The man she made sad.

“…Chris.”

Chris Evergrande.

The hero was before her eyes.